"Mr. Magnusen" 36x48x2 oil on canvas by Kathy Ostman-Magnusen
Artist's Statement:"Mr. Magnusen", 30x40x2 oil on canvas, by Kathy Ostman-Magnusen
Artist's Statement:
Mr. Magnusen, the subject of my painting, shares many of my same memories. We grew up not far from one another In S. California and later attended the same high school. It was in high school that I fell in love with Dennis G Magnusen. That love story was put on hold for some 30 years.
In 1967 Dennis was drafted by the US Army, and subsequently went to Vietnam in 1968. Circumstances and follies of youth would cause us to follow separate paths.
While in Vietnam Dennis was strongly affected by the children he saw there. "Children were never meant to experience war", he told me years later. He decided that he wanted to do his part to change the world. "Real change in any society begins with the children," was Dennis' mantra, so he became a teacher. He worked with gang zone high school kids in the evenings and intermediate students in the afternoon. Grades of F's and D's were bought up to A's and B's. Mr. Magnusen reached beyond his own expectations, leading kids to an understanding of their own worth, thus opening doors to their potential futures. He created a surf club and got the community to help. He was often featured on local TV and newspapers as someone who was making a difference in children's lives. Dennis also became a Mentor teacher, lending help to other educators. Being somewhat of a rebel he advised fellow teaches of ideas that reached beyond standard textbook techniques.
Sadly the ghost of Vietnam took away Mr. Magnusen's strength in the form of Peripheral Neuropathy, caused by Agent Orange. By 1990 he was too ill to continue his beloved teaching career. It broke his heart. Seeking rest, relief from stress, needing a special place to deal with the physical pain that comes with Small Nerve Fiber Neuropathy, he relocated to Hawaii. Hawaii has been his solace and a cool breeze when memories of who he once was for kids becomes faint.
About three months ago "Mr. Magnusen" was contacted by a former student. Amy had been looking for him for eighteen years. She had heard he had died from Agent Orange complications, but still hoped that she would find him. You see, Amy became a teacher and she wanted to find Mr. Magnusen to tell him how much he had affected her life. While working on her Masters in Literature, Amy wrote a paper describing the most influential person in her life. That person was Mr. Magnusen. Amy called to tell Mr. Magnusen that she wanted to make a difference in this world too. For a teacher there can be no greater reward.
As for me? I found Dennis once again after 30 years, through a miracle of circumstance, but that I guess is another story.
by Kathy Ostman-Magnusen
copyright 2009
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Schaefer Portrait Challenge Press
This is the link:
http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/513548.html?nav=12
...and below is the article for your convenience. I have have highlighted the part where Mr. Orwig talks about my painting, "Mr. Magnusen"
Kathy
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Mauai News
ARTISTS FACE OFF
Portrait challenge uncovers the islands’ identity
POSTED: January 11, 2009
Faces. You see them every day - brushing your teeth in the morning, passing neighbors on the street, doing business with a coworker. But the face is taking on a unique look thanks to the Schaefer Portrait Challenge 2009, a new exhibit at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.
"What we have is something that is very common in a relatively uncommon place," says Schaefer International Gallery Director Darrell Orwig.
The still eyes beaming back at you look so familiar. It may be tough to connect the faces with the names, but you swear you've seen these people before. It's that tiny hula dancer prepping for Merrie Monarch, the respected Filipino elder flashing her infectious smile, a child unleashing his art with a stick of chalk and the community "uncle" jamming on his ukulele.
"It's a good way for us to sort of reflect back to the community what it looks like," Orwig says of the portrait challenge. "To see it though the eyes of a variety of artists in so many different ways, I think, makes us better people. It makes us better human beings because that's what the portraiture tends to be in a general sense - is that deep sense of humanity."
First held in 2003, this triennial exhibition was inspired by the acclaimed Archibald Prize portrait competition held in Australia. But like many things that make their way to the islands, this adaptation has taken on a unique local flavor, and is exclusive to local artists who must depict subjects living in Hawaii. The statewide juried competition includes 56 pieces by 53 Hawaii artists, representing Maui, Oahu, Big Island, Kauai, Molokai and Lanai. The artists range from established figures in the art community to promising college-aged participants, all vying for one of the biggest art competition payouts in Hawaii, including the $15,000 Jurors' Choice Award. Another prize, the $5,000 People's Choice Award, will be selected by gallery visitors who cast their ballots by Feb. 13.
For the first time in its history, portions of the exhibit will travel beyond Maui shores, showing at The Contemporary Museum at First Hawaiian Center in Honolulu from May 29 to Sept. 8.
The collection is more than a bunch of pretty faces - each work displays the essence of a person captured in a single expression. Those subtle moments can be seen in the confident glare of a young skateboarder in Kelly Bandalos' "Julian at the Legal Wall," the strength of character in a husband's stare in Anita Bisquera's "William" or the fearless defiance of a friend battling cancer in John Woodruff's "Doc."
Organizers were thrilled to see several artists pushing the boundaries of traditional portraiture by creating stylized images or utilizing untraditional materials like ceramic, a wooden surfboard, silk and other mixed-media.
"Conceptually and technically this show has more variety in terms of what form portraiture might take," Orwig says.
Exhibit Programs Manager Neida Bangerter agrees.
"I think the stretch that some of the artists took, that's really going beyond what we know portraiture to be, and that's where the word 'challenge' comes in," she says.
Criteria for the previous portrait challenges said that the subject must be a prominent figure the community. But organizers opted for a change this year, hoping to encourage a more personal relationship between the artist and subject. Both participants were also required to have at least one live sitting.
"With that change there was an opportunity for people to really delve into a subject that they know well," Orwig explains.
Turns out, that's exactly what happened.
"The stories behind these pieces are much more engaging than they have been in the past," he continues. "That's not to say there haven't been some great stories, but this year we see much more personal accounts with more emotion."
Orwig pauses before mentioning Kathy Ostman-Magnusen's portrait of her husband titled "Mr. Magnusen."
"I can't even talk about that one without choking up," he whispers.
The power of this image lies beyond the weary eyes of Dennis Magnusen - a Vietnam veteran who was inspired to become a teacher after seeing children affected by war, only to be forced to abandon his calling because of poor health caused by Agent Orange exposure.
"There's almost a book there, there's so much substance to it," Orwig says.
"And you can see the story was so well portrayed in the sadness of his face and the colors used and the textures of the brush strokes," adds Bangerter. "It's an emotional piece to look at - it's heart-wrenching. When a piece is really done from the heart, you can sense that.
Maui artist Kirk Kurokawa chose to portray his dad, Reggie, because like his painting, he is larger-than-life. The 65-by-36-inch oil painting towers over the viewer, like a watchful parent observing his kid's every move.
"My dad kind of comes across as a gruff guy with this tough-guy image, but he's really just one of the softest, most kindhearted people I know," explains Kurokawa. "So the idea behind it was to have that kind of attitude where he's starting down at you, but he also has a dog that's all soft and cuddly."
"And that's actually his dog," he adds with a laugh.
Kurokawa, 34, is a veteran when it comes to the Schaefer Portrait Challenge. His work has been accepted into all three shows, and his "The Real McCoy" portrait of Tadashi Sato earned him the $15,000 Jurors' Choice Award in 2006.
"This show is a great because it really brings a different look to what Hawaii is all about," says Kurokawa. "And over the past few years it has definitely grown and a lot of artists are really stepping up to the plate, so it's been exciting to watch."
This year's coveted Jurors' Choice Award went to another Maui artist, Rich Hevner, 46, for his "Marriage on Paper, Looking For A Sonnet" portrait of himself and his wife, Lauren.
"Marriage is a pretty dynamic sort of institution and it plays a big role in my life," explains Hevner. "So when I'm in the studio, my relationship is always attached to me, even creatively."
While other artists chose to focus on a single subject, Hevner's piece dives into the multifaceted bond of marriage, and is the only portrait in this year's show that depicts the relationship between two people.
"She's had a huge influence on me, both as a person and as an artist," Hevner says of his wife of 10 years, Lauren. "This was an opportunity for me to really explore that relationship."
For Noble Richardson, 24, life's ugly moments sparked his stunning self-portrait. Finding inspiration in the ugly reality of drugs and corruption that pervades Maui's idyllic vistas, Richardson's piece exposes the dark shadows that form just behind the swaying palm trees.
"It becomes a portrait of hope for victims of hard times, and justice that turns its cheek to the frost that blights the valley of Wailuku known as 'Happy.' " he writes in his artist's statement.
"I felt like a lot of the art around here is all happy stuff. You go to Lahaina and see dolphins, nice sunsets and still lifes of fruits and flowers, but people need to see the other side of Hawaii," Richardson says. "In any place there's two worlds - the good and the bad - and I think people should be aware of that."
Whether the subject was a friend, family member, prominent figure or even the artists themselves, there's a story behind each face. Now it's up to the viewer to pick up that dialogue where the artist left off.
"It's an opportunity to see not just a picture on a wall, a label with a name on it and a description of the medium," says Orwig. "It's a chance to find out something about the person and the story behind it."
Lehia Apana can be reached at lehia@mauinews.com.
Peripheral Neuropathy HELP and SUPPORT:
http://www.neuropathy.org
The Neuropathy Association is the leading national non-profit organization serving the peripheral neuropathy community. We provide support and education, advocate for patients’ interests, and promote research into the causes of and cures for neuropathy.
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